In Basel, they said NO to the casino by Zaha Hadid

Neue Zürcher Zeitung and Basler Zeitung, two prominent Swiss daily newspapers, published the results of the voting on the fate of the new municipal casino in Basel on June 18, 2007. The majority of eligible voters opposed the construction of Zaha Hadid, who had won the architectural competition for the project in January 2005. Specifically, 62.6% (35,854 votes) were against and 37.4% (21,387 votes) were in favor of providing a 40 million grant for the construction. The canton was to contribute one third of the total 115 million Swiss franc project cost. In Switzerland, a referendum can be called for state-funded projects, where citizens have the final and decisive say.
British architect Zaha Hadid found little understanding for her project among the Swiss almost immediately after the announcement of the competition results. A wave of criticism arose against her, and under pressure, she was forced to present a reworked, more subdued version after a year. However, this did not help her either. Link>